Thursday, 21st March, 2019

37-year-old man arrested for fatally abusing 2-month-old daughter

Police in Koga, Fukuoka Prefecture, said Wednesday they have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of fatally abusing his two-month-old daughter last month.

According to police, Yoshihiro Kido, a construction worker, lived with his common-law wife, who is in her 20s, and their daughter Yuzuki Higashi. At around 11 p.m. on June 9, Kido is accused of violently shaking the child several times at their apartment, Fuji TV reported. After Yuzuki started vomiting and lost consciousness, her mother called 119 and she was taken to hospital the next morning where doctors said she had suffered internal bleeding of the brain. She died soon after.

The hospital contacted child welfare authorities about a case of possible abuse and police were then notified. Police said Kido has admitted shaking Yuzuki because she wouldn’t stop crying but said he did it to soothe her and denied any intent to kill.

Meanwhile, local media reported Wednesday that Yuzuki’s mother had consulted with Koga child welfare officials about her anxiety over raising her baby. Since April, child welfare officials had visited their apartment seven times to check on Yuzuki but did not speak with Kido or see anything to indicate that Yuzuki had been abused.